How does Donald Trump frame his message? What are his followers hearing?

Here are Donald

Trump’s seven frames - and an explanation why these frames are so powerful.

1. They’re smart - and we’re stupid.

Whatever Trump talks about, he always has the same message: others are ‘much smarter’ than
America. The Chinese are ‘much smarter’. The Mexican government is ‘much smarter, much
sharper’ than the American government. The nuclear agreement with Iran? One of the ‘dumbest
deals’ in history, the Russians will benefit from the deal - because they’re ‘smart’.

Americas opponents are smarter - but they’re also dishonest. China manipulates its currency.
Russia is making millions on the Iran-deal, America is getting nothing out of it. The Mexican
government is deliberate- ly sending ‘bad people’ across the border.

Why is this message so attractive to so many peo- ple? First of all, the ‘much smarter’ frame makes
any subject on Trump’s agenda a matter of competition: it’s us against them. This is why Trump’s
speeches are so energizing: they are not about policy, but about a fight with a combative Trump. A
Trump who in the end is a good guy – the guy who’s fighting for you.

Secondly, Trump is nourishing a need that we all have in this confusing, complicated world: we
want to know the root cause of our problems. Trump reduces all of this complexity to one cause:
they are smarter than us. You might think this is a shallow analysis or complete nonsense, but
knowing the root causes gives us the idea that we understand the complexity of our world - that
we are more or less in control.

2. We need the best people - and I know them.

Trump’s solution always involves getting ‘the best people’, ‘great people’, ‘brilliant people’, ‘tough
people’ working for America. The battle with ISIS? Trump will use ‘our brilliant people from Silicon
Valley’ to take on the enemy on the internet. The competition with Chi- na, Japan and Mexico?
Trump will deploy America’s best businessmen to make international deals - and of course not the
‘bunch of political hacks’ that the country now has to deal with.

Here we come to one of Trump’s key frames. When asked what he will do, he often responds with
a who-answer: whom he’s going to use to solve a prob- lem. His international economic policy?
He’s going to get the best negotiators to make new agreements with China and Japan. He knows
them personally, too. ‘I know the smartest guys on Wall Street. I know our best negotiators. I
know the overrated guys, the underrated guys, the guys that nobody ever heard of that are kill-
ers, that are great. We gotta use those people.’

Why is this ‘best people-frame’ so attractive to Trump’s followers? It implies that Trump doesn’t
have to talk about complex policies with all their nuances. His focus on ‘who’ implies that his
answers to questions about his policies are always very generic. The natural inclina- tion of his
opponents? To attack him with very specific questions. What is the result? Trump has the simple,
powerful, straightforward message - his opponents the complex message.

The ‘best people-frame’ is also attractive because it taps into the undercurrent that there’s
something terri- bly wrong with the American leadership – ‘our leaders are stupid’. Anyone who
detests Obama’s liberal values and policies very much like to believe that they have everything to
do with weak leadership - and Trump serves you promptly.

3. I love them – and they love me.

Trump’s proposals are often controversial and imprac- tical. What’s more, they insult people.
Mexico will have to pay for the wall. It won’t, of course, and this proposal insults Mexicans.
Preventing Muslims from entering the country would be insulting for Muslims, especially the ones
fighting ISIS.

His reaction to his many critics? One: he again re- sponds to ‘what’ questions with ‘who’-answers.
His reaction to the criticism about his entry ban is that so many people have called him to say,
‘Donald, you’ve done us a tremendous service.’ Many of his Muslim friends called him and said,
‘You know, Donald, you’re right.’ He’s always had loads of friends among people he has insulted.
He loves Mexicans, Hispanics love him, and many Mexicans work for him. He loves China, the
Chinese love him, and the biggest bank in China occupies one of his buildings.

Two: he explains why he makes these proposals, what his intentions are. Why a wall? Because
Trump is deep- ly concerned about crime among immigrants. Why a ban? Because of the danger of
terrorism - the first thing we’ll have to do is to ‘figure out what is going on’.

So what happens when he uses these ‘who’ and ‘why’ frames? Anyone with an analytical mindset
who listens to Trump hears immoral and impractical proposals. But anyone with major concerns
about immigration and terrorism hears something else. There may be some- thing wrong with
Trump’s proposals but his intentions are good. His proposals express an enormous drive to put an
end to illegal immigration and terrorism. What’s more, Trump is ultimately a good guy when it
comes to his personal relationships with Mexicans and Muslims. In this way, his extreme proposals
are made to appear reasonable. Once again, he’s making it convenient for you.

4. Insulted? I’m going to be your best President ever.

Trump doesn’t only propose new policy that would in- sult certain people (Frame 3). He also
personally insults them: women, the handicapped, veterans. Who doesn’t know the kinds of things
he’s said about women? He insults Vietnam veteran John McCain. Mexicans are criminals and
rapists.

How does he get away with these insults? By empha- sizing how good his policies will be: for
women, for veterans, for Mexicans. ‘I would be the best for women, the best for women’s health
issues’. And: ‘We’re going to take care of our vets. Our vets are treated horribly. They’re our
greatest people’. Is he insulting Mexicans? ‘I’ll take jobs back from China, the Hispanics are going
to get those jobs, and they’re going to love Trump.’ Just imagine that you’re one of Trump’s
followers. There’s something of the cowboy about ‘The Donald’: shoot first and ask questions
later. He doesn’t’ think be- fore he opens his mouth, so he says a lot of things that are wrong. But
he does the right things; he’s the right person for women, for veterans, for Hispanics. Trump:
Politicians? ‘All talk, no action’ - ‘I am a creator.’

5. I don’t have time for political correctness.

Suppose you get handed a difficult question limited apparently to two possible answers: yes or no.
An example: Trump is asked about the many things he has said about women: would what he has
said about them be appropriate coming from the President of the United States? It is a lose-lose-
frame. Both a ‘yes’ and a ‘no’ are wrong answers. How could he reframe the ques- tion? By what
we call ‘meta-framing’: don’t enter into the frame, but say something about the frame. Do not
address the question itself but saying something about it.

So what does Trump say in response? ‘I think the big problem this country has is being politically
correct. I frankly don’t have time for political correctness. And to be honest with you, this country
doesn’t have time either.’ You don’t answer the questions, but you say

something about it. The question is wrong, sprouts from elitist political correctness and this has
got us into all kinds of trouble.

Trump uses this strategy a lot. Is someone criticizing what he’s said about Muslims? About
Mexicans? These criticisms are based on a supposed need for being ‘politically correct’. ‘So many
“politically correct” fools in our country. We have to all get back to work and stop wasting time
and energy on nonsense!’ he tweets.

For conservative America, this strategy connects with a strong feeling they have: straight talk is
censored by the liberals that forbids us from saying certain things that have to be said. Others are
trying to tell us what is

correct and what isn’t. The Donald, however, is straight- forward.

6. I always win. I win. I beat people.

Ted Cruz had Trump cornered in a debate. Trump’s reaction: Cruz is “a nasty guy”, the “single
biggest liar”. Jeb Bush had Trump over a barrel in a debate. Trump’s reaction: Bush is saying this
‘because he has failed in this campaign. It’s been a total disaster. Nobody cares.’ Rubio felt warm
in a hot room and was perspir- ing. Trump likes to remind us of this. “He was soaking wet, I’m
telling you. He was wet. I say, ‘What the hell is going on over here?’ I thought he just came out of

a swimming pool. He was soaking. I looked, I said, ‘Wow’. I said, ‘Are you OK?’” And the moral of
this sto- ry? “Can you imagine Putin sitting there and waiting for the meeting and this guy walks in
and he’s like a wreck. No, you got to have Trump walk into that meeting.”
It may be an unwritten rule that you stick to the issues in a debate, but this doesn’t seem to apply
to Trump. With him, it’s anything goes. If you’re not winning by means of logic, you attack
someone personally (Cruz) or you argue that your opponent isn’t doing well in the polls so
whatever he says is nonsense (Bush). Or if someone’s perspiring in a hot stuffy room, you point it
out to everyone (Rubio).

What’s behind it all? Trump has to win, no matter what. “I always win. Knock on wood. I win. It’s
what I do. I beat people. I win,” he told a journalist. If “always win- ning” is so important, you’ll do
anything and everything to get there. Trump is a deal maker: he’ll do anything

it takes and use every trick in the book to get what he wants. He may misbehave, but hey, he’s
doing it for us.

7. It’s the economy, stupid.

Other countries are smarter than America, and Trump is going to put an end to this: he’s going to
bring jobs back to America. This message is repeated over and over. How can Trump reduce the
deficit while not touch- ing Social Security? “I’m going to save Social Security, I’m going to bring
back jobs.”

What’s he going to do for the African American com- munity? “The African-Americans love me
because they know I’m going to bring back jobs.” Should we increase the minimum wage? That
question isn’t very relevant according to Trump, because “I’m going to bring jobs back to
America.”

It may be simple but at least it’s consistent, and the endless repetition of a simple consistent
message is a powerful campaign weapon.

Trump has two opinions when it comes to foreign poli- cy. Trump is going to strengthen the
American military and he doesn’t want to get involved in any foreign military operations. What
Trump has to say about other

countries is always sprinkled with remarks about the economy. The war in Iraq cost America
trillions. It’s an investment that earned America nothing at all. It helped Iran, though. Iran is
profiting from the situation, sniffing around in Iraq and chasing after the oil riches. Should we
intervene in Syria? Trump is “interested in oil”, not in yet another “quagmire”. Let the Russians
take care of the Syrian quagmire – “We can’t go everywhere.” Trump often frames foreign policy
as an economic is- sue and this is potentially very powerful. The economy is often more important
in American political campaigns- ‘its the economy, stupid’. And viewing foreign policy from an
economic standpoint releases you from the moral obligation of getting involved in all those quag-
mires in the rest of the world. Many Americans are fed up with them already. Trump obviously still
wants to “bomb the shit out of ISIS”, “bomb the hell out of ISIS” - but you never hear any specific
plans for this.
The Trump Paradox.

Trump’s frames are convenient for many of his follow- ers. He wants to win and take control of our
complicat- ed unsafe world in which no one seems to be in charge. He will bring back jobs to
America. He has that power- ful drive to solve problems and in the end he is a good guy. A great
guy. A smart guy. This is what many of his followers hear, and they’d rather simply accept all of his
insults and incorrectness. Up until now, at least.

But there is more. After Trump proposed closing the borders to Muslims, his fellow-Republican
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, had this to say:

“This is not conservatism. What was pro- posed yesterday is not what this party stands for and
more importantly it’s not what this country stands for. Not only are there many Muslims serving in
our armed forces, dying for this country, there are Muslims serving right here in the House
working every day to uphold and defend the constitution. Some of our best and big- gest allies in
this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims, the vast vast vast majority of
whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism and freedom, de- mocracy and individual rights.”

What could be clearer than this? It shows that there’s a lot of opposition – also among the
Republicans – that is definitely going to make things difficult for Trump. Trump’s insensitive
aggressive rhetoric also makes him vulnerable – and this conjures up opposition, too.
Paradoxically, however, Trump’s followers see anyone who opposes him as members of the
establishment: the louder these opponents raise their voices against Trump, the more they serve
Trump’s purposes. More

than that, another paradox might be activated: the loud- er their voices, the more moderate
Republicans might take the risk and vote for Trump - the system has more than enough checks and
balances.